'Just Listen' invites readers into life of teen loner
by Kaycee Blair, Staff Writer
May 14, 2010
In Sarah Dessen’s book “Just Listen” (2006), Annabel Greene seems as if she lives the perfect life. Her modeling career is going great, and she is friends with some of the most popular people. That is until her best friend Sophie accuses Annabel of sleeping with her boyfriend when that boyfriend really attempted to rape Annabel. Annabel is then shunned at school by all of the people she used to be friends with.
Annabel’s life is no easier at home. With one older sister, Kirsten, in New York studying to be a filmmaker, her other sister, Whitney, in and out of the hospital and counseling for her eating disorder, and their mother who lives off Annabel’s modeling career, Annabel doesn’t want anymore. She feels as if she has to tiptoe around her own house.
Thrown into a world of silence at school, Annabel meets Owen Armstrong, a music-obsessed loner with some anger management issues. Owen becomes one of the only people Annabel can talk to and trust. Owen always tells the truth and wants Annabel to do the same after she confesses she lies to keep her family together.
Just as in all of Dessen’s books, the focus is on a teenage girl experiencing a rough life. “Along for the Ride” and “Lock and Key” are two of Dessen’s best books, along with “Just Listen.” Her books always feature something readers can relate to, whether it is a drunken mother who leaves and never returns (“Lock and Key”) or a mother who tries to control her child’s college life by forcing her daughter to do things her way (“Along for the Ride”).
Some of Dessen’s books can take a little time to get into. Dessen is fond of the flashback, making her books slightly confusing, but ultimately they are worth the details and confusion.
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